The Atlanta Dream arein the mix of the top teamsin the league, and they’ve played well enough to stay in the conversation. As the season continues, it’s imperative for them to keep stacking wins, given how tight the standings are currently. A bad stretch could knock them out of the playoff race in just a week, and that’s something they don’t want to have to deal with at this point in the season.
One of the things that has helped the Dream this season has been health, and they’ve only had a few players miss a game here or there. The big return they had shortly before the All-Star break was Brionna Jones, whomissed the first part of the season rehabbing from his meniscus injury. Since her return, the Dream have been managing her minutes, and she’s still made an impact on both sides of the floor.
Unfortunately, Joneswent down with a lower leg injuryagainst the Connecticut Sun, and at this time, there is no timetable for when she'll return. The good news is that the team doesn't believe she'll be out for the remainder of the season. The bad news is simply that she's out, and the Dream are going to need her during this important stretch.
What will the Dream do without Brionna Jones?
Angel Reese has been carrying most of the load in the frontcourt, and her impact on both sides of the ball is much needed. Naz Hillmon has also come along on offense over the past few weeks, and they'll need her to continue doing what she does. The problem is outside of those two, the Dream haven't had many consistent options in the frontcourt throughout the season.
Madina Okot has shown flashes throughout the season, but she's still a rookie and has rough patches here and there. Her minutes also fluctuate, and when Jones returned from her injury, her playing time went down. There's a good chance that she'll be seeing more minutes with Jones back on the shelf, but the question is how much will Karl Smesko play her?
With the lack of depth on the team, any injury to a player in their top six could be hard to overcome. The Dream don't have many matchups coming up on their schedule as well, so they may be in trouble if Jones doesn't return sooner rather than later.
Reese will have more on her plate, but also the guards, including Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray. The hope is that they can weather the storm for as long as they can.
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